1. Field of the Invention
Vaccinium ashei Reade. (Rabbiteye blueberry) ‘Alapaha’.
The fruit of the plant is primarily used as fresh fruit for shipping. Also suitable for customer-pick and processing markets.
2. Description of Relevant Prior Art
The new and distinct variety of rabbiteye blueberry was selected in 1972 at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Tifton, Ga. from a cross of T-65 (non-patented)×‘Brightwell’ (non-patented) made in 1971 in Beltsville, Md. The selection was subsequently evaluated for a number of years at the University of Georgia's Blueberry Research Farm near Alapaha, Ga. In 1992, the new variety was entered in the Southern Regional Blueberry Evaluation Trial, where it was tested at diverse locations including Alapaha, Ga., Clarksville, Ark. (location of the University of Arkansas' Fruit Substation Research Farm), and Poplarville, Miss. (location of the USDA-ARS Small Fruit Laboratory). Resulting data from 10-site/years indicate that the new variety is widely adapted to areas conducive to rabbiteye blueberry production.
The new variety has been asexually propagated on many occasions since 1972 by softwood cuttings. It roots readily from softwood cuttings and in all cases the clones propagated from cuttings have maintained the vegetative and fruit characteristics of the original selection.
The new variety has been primarily compared with the early season rabbiteye standard ‘Climax’ (non-patented). In Alapaha, Ga. and Clarksville, Ark., productivity of the new variety substantially exceeded that of ‘Climax’ in each trial year with the 4 year average yield being 64% greater than ‘Climax’ at Alapaha, and the 3 year average yield being 153% greater than ‘Climax’ at Clarksville and 23% greater than ‘Climax’ at Poplarville. Much of the increased production of the new variety is due to its later bloom time as compared to ‘Climax’, especially in south Georgia, which lessens the risk of spring freeze damage during bloom. The later bloom time of the new variety is not coupled with an equal delay in ripening, however, which would result in decreased fresh market value. Therefore, one of the greater attributes of the new variety is that it blooms at least a week after ‘Climax’, yet ripens before or within a few days of the standard cultivar.
The chill requirement of the new variety is estimated to be 450 to 550 hours below 7° C. This is derived from comparing the bloom date of the new variety following chilling to that of one of its parents ‘Brightwell’ and ‘Climax’ over a 3 year period. ‘Climax’ has a reported chill requirement of 450 to 500 hours, and ‘Brightwell’ has a reported requirement of 350 to 400 hours. The parent T-65 was a test selection that had earlier fruit ripening when compared to the new variety.
Fruit quality of the new variety and ‘Climax’ was determined by independent subjective ratings for each of 3 years in the Southern Region Blueberry Evaluation Trial. The berries were rated on a scale of 1=poorest to 10=best, with a value of 6 generally considered “commercially acceptable” for various characteristics including size, scar, color, firmness, and flavor. The 3-year average values for berry attributes from Georgia, Arkansas, and Mississippi are very similar, with ratings of 7 to 8. The only consistent difference across locations was that ‘Climax’ color was slightly better (more blue), although the new variety's color is commercially viable at 7.2 to 7.5.
The bush type of the new variety is very similar to one of its parents ‘Brightwell’. It is vigorous, and upright, with a fairly narrow crown. The 3-year average plant vigor ratings from sites of the Southern Regional Trials are very similar for ‘Climax’ and the new variety. Leafing of the new variety appears to be better than ‘Climax’ (based on observations) even following mild winters. ‘Climax’ is known to be a poor leafing Cultivar, which causes problems with fruit set and sizing in some years. Thus, the new variety easily produces sufficient stems to “renew” the plant. Some twig die-back has been observed at Alapaha, but 4 years of observations have indicated this has caused no serious problems.
‘Climax’ is considered a standard cultivar by the Georgia industry with respect to mechanical harvesting rabbiteye fruit for the fresh market. In 1999, testing of mechanical harvesting of ‘Climax’ and the new variety were conducted at Alapaha, and the data suggested that the new variety would be suitable for mechanical harvesting, with fruit losses and firmness losses being similar to ‘Climax’.
The new variety is self-fertile to a degree, similar to ‘Brightwell’. However, it is recommended that the new variety be planted with another rabbiteye cultivar with a similar bloom time for cross pollination. The recent release ‘Austin’ (non-patented) would likely be a good choice for planting with the new variety. The cultivar Premier (non-patented) would be suitable as well. ‘Climax’ would likely be a poor choice for cross pollination in south Georgia, since the bloom times vary so much.
The new variety has been named the ‘Alapaha’ cultivar.